New leaders ... Incoming CDF Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin and outgoing CDF General David Hurley during today's change of command ceremony at Blamey Square in Canberra.Source: News Corp Australia

THE Army has been pushed into the background following the end of the war in Afghanistan with the appointment of a former RAAF fighter pilot and an Admiral to the top defence jobs.

Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin yesterday took over the reins of the military from retiring chief General David Hurley during a lavish taxpayer funded ceremony in Canberra that included a fly-past and indigenous dance troupe.

Earlier the new Vice Chief of Defence, Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs, handed command of the Royal Australian Navy over to another former navy flyer Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett.

The two Admirals join a third navy three-star officer, Chief of Joint Operations Command Vice-Admiral David Johnston in the highest echelons of the nation’s military command chain.

Only one soldier, army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison, remains on the top rung of the Australian Defence Force.

His likely successor and the fifth three-star officer in the land, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, is outside the direct military chain and works for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison as head of Operation Sovereign Borders.

The appointment of senior air force and navy officers to the top military posts is more that just symbolic.

Defence is facing massive technical challenges as it introduces 72 new Joint Strike Fighter jets, unmanned planes and new warships worth tens of billions of dollars.

Air Chief Marshal Binskin joined the Navy as a pilot 38 years ago and was one of the last to fly Skyhawk jets onto the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

He transferred tot he RAAF to fly Mirages and Hornets before becoming Air Commander and Chief of air force.

Binskin and his new Vice Chief, former Navy boss Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs, have pledged to step up the fight against abuse in the military.

“My intent is for a Defence Force assured of success at all levels of operations, from humanitarian and disaster response through to high-end warfighting,” ACM Binskin said.

“We must learn from the successes and failures of our past to ensure that we transition as a capable and professional force that is trusted and respected by all Australians and the region.”

New boss ... Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin.Source: News Limited

OUR NEW MILITARY BOSS A MODERN-DAY WARRIOR

On most weekends the nation’s new military boss, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, can be found clad in leather zooming around the backroads of southern NSW on his motorcycle.

For a former fighter pilot the adrenalin rush from two-wheels on a winding stretch of tarmac is almost as effective as 40,000 pounds of thrust in the cockpit of a jet fighter.

Binskin is the model modern-day warrior.

He started his service life as a navy pilot in 1978 and went on to land Skyhawk jets on the deck of Australia’s last aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

Like many navy flyers he was forced to shift to the RAAF when the fleet air arm ceased to exist. In fact he was the first navy aviator to make the transition on exchange in 1982 to fly Mirage jets.

He transferred to the RAAF in 1984 and became commander of number 77 Squadron at Williamtown before being promoted to Commander Air Combat Group.

In control ... Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin AM.Source: Supplied

He is a fighter combat instructor and was the RAAF’s F/A-18 Hornet demonstration pilot and he chalked up 3500 hours in single seat fighter jets before he moved to a desk in Canberra.

During the Iraq Qar the former Campbelltown boy served as commander of the Combined Air and Space Operations Centre in Doha conducting the entire coalition air war in the Middle East Area of Operations.

A former chief of the air force Binskin, who is married to Gitte and has two sons, is a modernist and will bring a less macho and more technological focus to the top job.

The 54-year-old is the ideal officer to oversee the introduction of $12 billion worth of new Joint Strike Fighter jets and billions of dollars worth of hi-tech warships and other kit into military service.

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